Wednesday in Hawkville

Matt Hasselbeck’s upper lip was the talk of the locker room Tuesday, when the players returned from their day off to begin preparing for Saturday’s first-round playoff game against the Washington Redskins at Qwest Field.

Wednesday, it was gone – with an assist from Hasselbeck’s son, Henry.

“My two-year-old son, he was trying to rip it off. He thought it was fake,” Hasselbeck said after practice. “He clawed me, so I was bleeding all night last night. He and I actually shaved it off together.”

Talk about a father-and-son bonding experience.

PLAYER OF THE DAY
Bobby Engram. Not so much for anything he did in practice, but what the 34-year-old wide receiver has done this season.

He not only led the Seahawks in receptions and posted the first 1,000-yard receiving season of his 12-year career, Engram posted the third most-productive season in NFL history by a receiver after turning 34.

Cris Carter tops the list with 96 receptions for 1,274 yards and nine touchdowns in 2000 with the Minnesota Vikings. Next is Marvin Harrison, with 95 receptions for 1,366 yards and 12 TDs with the Indianapolis Colts last season. Each was 34.

Then comes Engram: 94 for 1,147 yards and six TDs.

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Logan Payne, the rookie wide receiver that was signed off the practice squad this week, got his 53-man-roster initiation when he tangled with Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Trufant.

Payne went up to get the pass, but Trufant didn’t stop on the play until he had knocked the ball free – and Payne to the turf.

The other defensive players saluted Trufant’s effort with a chorus of oooooh. The offensive players countered with a blast of booooo.

The proof, however, came at practice, where only wide receiver Deion Branch (strained calf) and linebacker Niko Koutouvides (bruised knee) were sidelined.

Holmgren also said that he is sure Branch will be able to play against the Redskins, after he sat out the regular-season against the Falcons last week.

The Redskins did not practice, opting for the walkthrough that coach Joe Gibbs went to a few weeks ago to give his players some extra rest during their grueling stretch run that involved winning four consecutive games to earn the NFC’s final playoff berth.

QUOTE UNQUOTE
“I don’t think anyone wants to play the Washington Redskins right now. But that’s the challenge that’s been put before us and we’ve got to do the best we can.” – Hasselbeck